


Something Out There

by NervousAliceCurious



Series: Poisonous Little World [2]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), The Mist - Stephen King
Genre: Bad Relationship, Beer On The Spot, Broken Generator, F/M, Fights, Hiding in the Bathroom, Intimidation, Partying, Tentacles, The ExorSix, The Mist - Freeform, Threats, broken bonds, memorial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 21:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20973155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: The community is rocked to its core with a shocking death.Warning for emotionally abusive relationship/manipulation. Blood, gore, censored swearing. Alcohol. Reasons for someone else to die.





	Something Out There

**Author's Note:**

> OH BOY. Somebody is going to HATE me-

Matt Haag was minding his own business while everybody else freaked out.

Doing his best to tune out Lele Pons loudly exclaiming to the world just how much of a terrible person he was for stepping all over her shoes during the ceiling collapse.

-When he felt a jabbing pain in his shoulder!

“Ow-?”

Whirling around in confusion, he rubbed the sore spot, and-

“What the…?”

_Smoke?_

-

Following his nose, the YouTuber found himself entering a secluded back room.

A.K.A the most generic storage space on the planet.

…Or at least it _would_ have been provided the generator housed in the rear wasn’t spewing thick (dare he even think it), _mist_ all over the everywhere.

_Surprised nobody’s noticed this yet…_

-Well, nobody apart from whomever had decided to almost take a chunk out of his flesh.

_I gotta tell them-_

And fast.

Because if the sputtering continued, the power this place currently had?

Yeah, it’d be pretty much dead.

-

So what did he do next?

Like an idiot, he turned the stupid thing off.

Why, you ask, when he knew that _such_ an action was pure stupidity!

Because if he didn’t, he was low-key worried that it might explode.

And, therefore, kill everyone within the building.

“-Ach!!”

Flinging his fingers from the hot(!) lever right quick, he cursed several times under his breath, and then prepared to get the cavalry to come fix this mess.

Of course, since the handy device had been put to bed, that caused all of the lights in this particular sector of the store to flicker and die.

_Great._

_Now I get to walk back here in the dark._

_Fun, fun-_

BANG!!

_What the-_

_BANG!!!_

_The h* is that-?_

Sweeping the light from his phone from one side of the passage to the other, he could see nothing out of the ordinary-

** _BANGG!!!!_ **

**BANG BANG BANG-**

“-Oh my God!”

The shutter that led to the loading bay was…_rattling._

Rattling with the force of repeated blows-

_I’ve gotta tell them!_

_Something is out there._

-

“What!?” Oli exclaimed in disbelief.

“I know it sounds impossible, but it’s true!

I heard and saw it with my own eyes!!”

“Yeah right!” Lele snapped.

She jabbed an angry finger into his chest.

“As if I’d _ever_ listen to a word you said-“

“It’s probably just the wind?” Sierra giggled…

Nervously.

“No way”.

He shook his head, vehement.

“This is real”.

“-What’s real?”

Eva Gutowski and Timothy Delaghetto.

The last two members of their little friend group, dully nick-named ’the ExorSix’, by a small, intrepid few.

(A.K.A Colleen, Teala, and Roi).

...

(And the Whole of Everlock in General).

While she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, Tim flashed Matt a cheeky grin.

“You hearing ghosts in the night?”

“It’s not a ghost, it’s, it’s a-“

“Where are the guys in the yellow suits, man?”

“Nobody’s called them yet”.

Sierra’s hand went to her mouth as even more giggles emerged.

Oli sighed.

“Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be able to help us”.

“…Where did you see…whatever it is?”

He looked at Eva, and his heart_ clenched._

She and Colin had been dating for the better part of a month despite half the town and their _brother_ telling her that he was no good—

He’d even caught him withdrawing her cash from the bank, once.

When they’d confronted each other, Colin had played the victim card and claimed that he was only taking back what was rightfully his, that she’d _stolen_ from _him-!_

And Eva had bought it.

Started crying…

Matt attempted to defend her, only to be brushed aside by them both.

…

He’d gotten the feeling that this had been going on for a long, long time.

Until today…

“…I can show you!

Come on-but don’t go without a weapon.

Okay?”

-

“Oh. Oh, I know what this is-“

Eva waved away the smoke.

“You do?”

Poor Oli’s eyes were beginning to water, and he could barely keep from blinking every few seconds.

“She’s Eva! Of _course_ she knows!”

Lele strained to make out the generator’s shape in the shadows.

“Ouch-“

Tim’s knee whacked off the edge.

“Found it!”

Sierra yelped at the dull clang.

“Are you okay!?”

“Yeah, steel bones still in order-“

“What-what do we have to do to fix it?”

Matt H. felt anxious.

On the one hand getting this thing repaired would be in their best interests over chasing some dock-crashing critter.

But…

Although the noises had stopped, he _still_ couldn’t shake the watched sensation deep in his bones.

“Well…”

A tiny smile.

…It was better than nothing.

“Who’s our resident Tech Genius?”

“Justine”.

Tim answered automatically.

“Right. Or-“

“Andrea B.”

“Mm-hm”.

“And?”

“And they would _probably_ say-“

She picked up a limp piece of tubing.

“That there’s something clogging up _this_ handy hose”.

“-Which isn’t letting it work correctly?”  


“Matt, you get an A+”.

“Thank you”.

“Did you really have to swell his already-big head?”

…Lele’s grumbling was ignored.

-

“So…”

She bit her lip.

“Who wants to go out there, and de-clog it?”

“-Not me, _no!”_

Sierra stumbled back from the loading dock, terrified!

“You said there was something out there, Matt!”

“I did, yeah-“

“I thought you didn’t believe him!” Tim called out.

“I didn’t, but I’m _scared-“_

“…I think we all are”.

Oli stepped between them, hands raised for peace.

“We saw what happened…earlier…”

Eva teared up.

Lele put a comforting hand on her shoulder…

“And Arthur doesn’t seem like the type to lie, his clothes were covered with blood”.

“Maybe he’s a serial killer”, she posited.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that-“

“Oh so you’re going to try to make us have faith in your el fantasma, but not in my el asesino en serie?”

Matt H. gulped.

“…What would he even have to gain by lying to us about that?”

She shrugged.

“More victims for the slaughter”.

“This is great talk and all”, Eva cut in, “But we _still_ need to figure out who’s heading out”.

“-And armed”, Oli added.

“I’ll do it”.

Lele, of course…

Fearlessness clearly should’ve had its limits in light of this whole affair, but NOPE.

Not for her.

“Are you sure?” Sierra whimpered.

“Relax, girl”.

She hefted a large plank from a pile of junk.

“I’ve got this”.

-

“Ready?

_3_

_2_

_1-_

_HEAVE-“_

Together, himself and Tim lifted up the corrugated sheet of metal.

Mist wafted in from below…

“Alright y’all”.

Flapper beads sparkling in what little light there was, Lele walked out into the day.

“See you-“

A tentacle shot around her ankle, and yanked her to the ground!

“What the f*!?”

She hit it with the wood piece, while Sierra screamed in terror!

“Bloody H*!”

Oli hurried to grab her as it broke.

“Guys-“

She was swiftly yanked from his grasp!

“Nonononono-“

“Lele!”

Matt H. Lunged for the blonde as her lower body was engulfed.

“Let go! Let go you b*d-!“

It did.

But not without first removing an entire flap of skin.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!”

“Oh my God!!” Eva gasped.

“OHHHH THAT F*IN HURTS, MY LEG-“

“Somebody hit it!” Tim shouted uselessly.

Spatting blood, the ‘it’ in question, slithered petulantly backward a few paces, actually allowing the two men to haul her once more into the safety of the back room.

-Then it caught her neck.

All the way around the throat, a crimson ring of red-

Lele’s choked wail would haunt his dreams forever.

Especially when it ripped.

Free.

“LELE!!” Oli’s expression contorted with fear-

Eva smashed a glass case with her elbow, breaths coming hard and fast.

Snatching up the fire ax nestled inside, and bringing it down-

It wriggled away as fast as light, somehow sensing the instrument of imminent doom hovering overhead.

“…li…att…!” She gurgled desperately-

Matt and Oli sprinted to keep up, just _barely_ able to hook under her arms in time-

-Soon to be joined by more of its sucking friends!!

“NOOOO, MOTHER IN HEAVEN HELP MEEEE-“

They converged on the hapless woman, stealing her closer-

Binding her up, blood spurts making their fingers slip as their hands slowly became drenched in blood-

“…on’t let me g…on’t let me g…on’t let me g…!!!!”

They couldn’t hold on.

Dragged.

Screeching from the bay…

The last they ever saw of her was her bloody, gaping mouth.

-

Matt H.’s ears rang…

His mouth went _dry-_

He wanted to **scream.**

But.

The tentacles were still invading their haven.

Sierra was sitting on the floor, having fallen in pure shock.

Tim’s eyes were wet with tears.

“G*D*T!!”

Eva was chopping at everything that moved, her ax slicing appendage after wiry appendage after wiry appendage-

Oli grabbed his shoulders.

“Matt.

Matt, pull yourself together!”

His voice was thick with sorrow.

“We lost her, and it hurts yes, and yet we still need you!

We still need to live”.

For **her.**

So he grabbed a fire extinguisher, and bashed it against the attacking creatures until it exploded with white foam in his face.

Burned like acid, but he didn’t care.

Let it burn.

If it could kill these demons, then that was all mattered.

-

Eva had just lost her best friend.

With a cry of pure anguish, she raised the blade high for one, final strike.

And slashed off one final writhing limb as Sierra and Tim re-collapsed the shutter.

…

“…”

…What could they say?

What could they do!?

…Lele Pons was…was dead…

...She collapsed to the ground and cried.

-

“She’s WHAT!?”

Gabbie’s cry echoed throughout the small store, and got everyone’s attention immediately.

“Who’s dead?” (Alex)

“What’s going on?” (Liza)

“Everyone please calm down!” (Alison)

“Lele Pons”, Matt H. said grimly.

I saw a tear trickle down his cheek…

He was currently washing his hands clean with a rag.

Vigororously.

Like that alone would've been enough to wash away her blood.

“What!?”

Rosanna was flabbergasted!!

“How!?”

“Something in the Mist…”, Tim tearfully confessed.

“D*T!*

His fist crunched into a stack of cereal boxes.

“D*T, D*T, D*T!!!”

I felt sick!

Was this…

Was this my fault-

“…Well that’s not good”.

Justine paced.

“Are we all going to end up like her?” Lauren asked her boyfriend.

Her fingers were digging into his arm-

“-Uh, b*s?”

Manny MUA.

“You realize the front of this shebang is all plate-glass, right?”

…

“Oh my God”, Nikita breathed.

“Girl! Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

Bretman looked nervously out at the guilty set of floor-to-ceiling windows…

“Welp”.

Tana took off her Cowgirl hat and tossed it into the corner.

“Looks like it’s time to have the last party of our lives!”

…

What.

*

Who in their right mind would party in the middle of a crisis!?

…Apparently half the YouTubers in existence, that’s who.

-Oh wait, I meant all of them.

…You’ve gotta be kidding me.

While the Beauty Gurus broke open the beer casings, Colleen helped Ro and Safiya blast Katy Perry from baby speakers they’d managed to talk out of Jesse’s hands.

Somebody was baking popcorn in the Break Room…

_This is Madness!_

And I’d had enough.

-

“Hey”.

“Hey yourself”.

MatPat smiled kindly, a drink in hand.

The Exor…Five.

_Poor guys._

“If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to tell us”.

“Okay…”  


Sierra’s tiny voice was watery, but sincere.

“Thanks”.

Matt H.’s eyes were red.

“That’s not why we want to talk to you, but thanks”.

“Oh?”

“Yeah…”

Eva’s single word.

Was barely even audible.

“…We think you should warn everyone”.

Oli.

“Me?”

“Yeah”.

Tim nodded firmly.

“I mean…half the town was attracted to you at one point, anyway-“

MatPat blushed.

Remembering.

The happy and chaotic days before a certain woman named Stephanie accidentally took a wrong turn on the highway.

“I don’t know...I’m not really in a position of authority like Mortimer is”.

“No way, man”.

Nikita’s boyfriend dipped into the convo.

“Not like you”.

“-“

…He had absolutely no idea what to say.

Except-

“I’ll think about it”.

“Thank you…”, Eva whispered.

“It’s no problem”, he said gently, “really”.

“It’s everything to us”, Matt H. asserted.

-

“OKAY, OKAY, BREAK IT UP-“

Veronica cleared a path through the livin’ it up YouTubers, a broken bottle swinging within her fist.

“Yeah!” Wilmer roared, “This is a Town Establishment, Respectable and Free of Drink”.

“Says who?” Nikita sniped, “You and your drunk-a* girlfriend?”

“Who’s got beer herself, by the way-“ Teala pointed out.

“I can fight my own battles”, she coldly snipped.

“But it is the truth”, JC countered thoughtfully.

“You want me to write-up the lot of you!?”

Their so-called Police Officer threatened him with a meaty fist!

“Hey, hey!”

Roi jumped into the line of fire!

“Don’t hurt him, he did nothing wrong!”

“He gave me lip!”

“ENOUGH!!”

Everyone went silent.

Standing on top of a conveyor belt was the Mayor herself.

Janet.

-

“All of you, cease this bickering at once!”

“Why?” Andrea R. quipped, “Your ‘Law Enforcement’ needs an ‘Attitude Check’”.

“Because if you get yourselves soaked, your judgement will be severely impaired”.

“And?”

Andrea B. was hit with a withering glare.

“I’m just curious, I’m not trying to start something-!”

“Impaired judgement leads to stupid decisions”.

“Stupid like-?” Tana started-?

“Stupid decisions leads to either your _own_ death, or _all of ours!!”_

…

The bellowing shout ricocheted throughout the room, and made the glass-plate windows rattle.

She drew in a deep breath.

While everyone gaped.

“…And we sure as h* don’t need anymore of that tonight”.

-

As the party dispersed, Ro, Husky, MatPat, Stephanie, Safiya, and Colleen were all approached by Mayor Janet.

“…Do you know where the Exor…kids went?”

“I think they’re at the back room”, Rosanna answered solemnly.

“…”

“Is there something wrong?” Husky coaxed.

“No…it’s just that I’d like to see the scene myself-maybe learn what type of monster killed Lele”.

“I’d be careful of that if I were you”, MatPat cautioned.

“Yeah…they’re mourning now…”

Stephanie ran a weary hand through her hair.

“This is awful…people are dying already…”

Colleen sighed.

“Man…this is _not_ how I imagined our supply trip ending”.

“Me neither”, Husky said.

Safiya shrugged.

“I didn’t plan for this either, and to be honest, who did?"

-

“Excuse me?”

She knocked twice on the wall to announce her entrance.

-They looked up.

“…”

They looked _horrible._

Sunken cheeks, shadows under their eyelids, tear tracks staining their cheeks…

Eva, Oli, and Matt H. had gathered up bouquets of gorgeous pink, yellow, and red flowers from the tiny nook off of the main bread aisle.

Sierra and Tim had been busy lighting several incense candles…

A circle of grief lit, and shared by six friends torn asunder too soon.

The petals strewn at the hairline-crack where She had disappeared.

Swimming and stained with blood…

“Er…”

She grinned awkwardly.

Their faces didn’t change from grim countenances.

Even Oli’s.

“So…am I interrupting anything?”

“What do you want”, Tim asked flatly.

She grimaced.

_Tough crowd…_

“I was wondering if you could show me what was it that…you know…”

Sierra’s and Eva’s eyes grew dangerously wet.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve”, was Matt H.’s take.

“I know, and I apologize”.

Tim snorted.

“But…no one else knows what it is, and I’m just…how are we going to keep everyone safe if we don’t find out?

How do we make sure that what…happened…doesn’t…occur…”

She flapped a hand in the air, gesturing to them what she would not dare speak aloud.

_Again._

…

Moving in robotic synchrosity, they all turned to look at each other.

…

“…”

Wordlessly, Matt H. sank to one knee and cleared a small space.

In it?

A thin, sectioned, prehensile limb.

“Oh”.

She leaned over for a closer view.

“Oh, that is-“

It reminded her of a metallic octopus.

“Strange”.

“Strange and _evil_-“ Tim corrected.

“That thing **murdered** Lele”.

Nodding diplomatically, Janet picked up an empty bouquet shell of coral and lace.

Poked the tentacle-

“CAREFUL!!” Sierra shrieked!!

-The Mayor startled, and ended up pushing a little too hard.

It cracked in the middle like a squished Chinese lantern, and dried out.

“Okay…?”

Then it melted into stinking black goo.

“Okay”.

Straightening up as the vile substance coated the concrete, she turned to the horrified Five.

“Thank you so much for this…If we can prevent another from being…hurt, then we should be able to gain the upper hand on these creatures”.

“-Nononono it’s leaving a mess!”

Sierra leaped to defend their remembrance utterly ignoring her.

She was soon joined by Tim and Oli.

Eva and Matt H. glared.

‘Oh dear…’

“…I’ll be going now”.

-

“Okay!”

“Hm?” (Andrea B.)

“What?” (Calliope)  


“Huh?” (Roi)

She clapped her hands together.

“Everyone, we have to be vigilant if we want to get through this ordeal alive”.

“No duh”, Andrea R. snarked under her breath.

“As Mr. MUA identified earlier on, the plate-glass windows could easily break in the event of another attack, and so we must fortify them immediately”.

-And, to start the ball rolling, she promptly hefted up a heavy sack of birdseed ("Would you like some help with that, mom-?" "No, I'm fine dear, thanks anyway-"), and carried it up to the front door.

As people slowly began to follow her lead, she was approached by MatPat, Stephanie, Colleen (with Smollie sleeping in her arms), Ro, Husky, and Safiya.

“How’d it go?”

“…Great”.

“Yikes”, Rosanna commented.

“I don’t want to cause a panic, but if you all could just…_casually mention_ that everyone should be wary of shiny black tentacles hiding behind seals to the outdoors, _that_ would be great”.

“We’re on it”, Husky promised.

“Same here”, MatPat confirmed.

Colleen blinked.

“Tentacles-?”

“-We’ll do our best”, Safiya reassured her.

“Thank you”.

-

_…What should I do?_

Riley sat on the toilet, thinking…

_They don’t love me at home._

But-

_I don’t want to be stuck here forever…_

She held up the knife.

_Will this **really** help me?_

_Will it-_

-The bathroom door creaked open.

She about fell off of her perch!

“Oh, sorry-“

Someone in a dark coat peeked in.

“I didn’t mean to scare you-“

“It’s…alright”.

Hurriedly getting to her feet, the young woman hastily rearranged her skirts.

“-I was just leaving”.

“You might not want to go out there right now-I think they’re opening the beer packs”.

“Ooh”.

She wrinkled her nose.

“Well in that case, I guess I’ll go hole up in the Break Room for awhile”.

“That’s where they’re burning popcorn”.

She sighed.

“Okay then…I’ll just hunker up somewhere and hope I don’t get noticed”.

“Sounds like a plan”.

Smiling slightly, Riley extended her hand.

“Say...you wouldn't mind being good acquaintances would you?

My name’s-“

The other two bathroom stalls opened.

Out came two mysterious women in furs.

“Save it darling…”

“We’d like to have a little chat, with this one”.

“Huh?”

Sister 1 got right up in her face.

“Skedaddle _Princess_”.

Fear quaked through her veins.

She looked at the stranger-

“Sorry”.

The door slammed shut with finality.

*

Sandra and Belle.

Circling me like vultures.

“Sooo, handsome.

You been here long?”

“No…”

“Oh. Interesting”.

-Unlike Riley’s, there was _nothing_ sweet about that smile.

“Have any…friends?”

Debra got _too **close-**_

“-Stay back!”

“Why?”

Sandra innocently twirled a strand of hair around her finger…

“We just want to know who you are”.

“Don’t lie to me”.

I tried to slip through their ring-

“Why would we be lying?”

“I don’t know.

You tell me”.

-I heard the bathroom door creak open a third time…

“Because, Stranger, you have no hope”.

“What-“

Belle.

Blocking the exit-

“You have no life here, no friends…”

I felt her sisters latch onto my arms.

“No personal attachments to anyone”.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saying we don’t need you alive”.

She reached out to stroke my cheek…

“A person who hides in the shadows wastes space.

Wouldn’t you both agree?”

“Mm-hm…”

“Oh yeah”.

“You can’t just-“

I tried to swallow, but my throat had dried-up.

“You can’t just…kill me…”

“Kill you?”

She was amused!?

“Someone will find my body here eventually-“

“How adorable.

He thinks we’re going to murder him in cold blood!”

They _laughed_ at me-!?

“What an idiot”.

“How in the world did he get this far?”

“What are you talking about now!?”

They were losing me…

That wasn’t necessarily a good thing!

“We’re talking about how your days are numbered, Pretty Boy”.

She grabbed my shoulders, too-

“And we’re going to enjoy every second”.

They threw me into the **wall-**

Pain shot up my spine.

I blinked the spots and stars out of my eyes-

They filed out, shooting snide glances over their shoulders.

I…

I had a bad feeling…

*

The back of my head ached.

As soon as I moved, I almost fainted.

I turned-

A distinct imprint of my silhouette surrounded by violent crack marks.

…!

…

S-scary…

Worried, I re-opened the door.

Only a hair.

Were they still…?

Yup.

They were _still_ drinking.

Though why Mayor Janet was leaping on top of a conveyor belt was beyond me.

I’d clearly missed something…

I caught Riley’s gaze in the crowd.

She averted her eyes.

*

_My death is on your head._

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE tell me if I forgot to tag anyone, I keep forgetting-
> 
> And I am so sorry.


End file.
